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Monday, April 7, 2008

Brooklyn Bridge Park -- Memorial Garden Just a Memory? Update

See Update at the Bottom of this Post

The construction of Brooklyn Bridge Park began last month with the demolition of Pier 1, but demolition crews have also been nibbling away at other pieces of the landscape.

This "site preparation" work will eventually include the demolition of five pier shed buildings on Piers 1-6, demolition of the Purchase Building; demolition of three buildings adjacent to Piers 2, 3 and 6; and the removal of trees, vegetation, and "miscellaneous site elements," according to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation.

One of those removed "miscellaneous site elements" seems to be the Memorial Garden near Pier 4, planted with 25,000 daffodils in the shape of the World Trade Center after September 11. We had hoped to see them again this spring, but as you can see in the bottom photo, that land has been plowed under. Whatever happened to the 25,000 daffodil bulbs (projected to bloom for as many as 40 years)?

The Memorial Garden is not shown on the future park's rendering (see Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation).

UPDATE: Nancy Webster, Deputy Director of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, sets the record straight here.

10 comments:

  1. That's unfortunately not surprising.

    Here's a blurry photo I took of the memorial in 2005 http://flickr.com/photos/epc/13723393/

    I don't remember it flowering last year.

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  2. Thanks epc. While the flowers were great for a couple of years, I don't remember them last year either.

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  3. Great get mcbrooklyn. Eventually one has to conclude that the "planners" are inept at best, and after a big "oops" will blow some more money on a replanting.

    fools.

    they'll probably run their (our?) cash out on the heavy demo (and the consultants fees--they lunch at the river cafe ya know---and we'll wait another twenty years for some plain old grass and benches and perhaps some daffodils and trees. In other words, a PARK.

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  4. If the memorial flowers were really razed, then it is shameful.

    Can we find this out?

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  5. Is there one politician who is accountable for this thing the "notapark"?

    The money spent so far studies, food, consultants,studies, demo, food, more studies, drinks and more consultants...$40-$50 million (?) and what to show for it to the People: some asphalt gone, tractors moving about and a little demo.

    Echo the Shame line, but its more than that.

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  6. Is there one politician who is accountable for this thing the "notapark"?

    The money spent so far studies, food, consultants,studies, demo, food, more studies, drinks and more consultants...$40-$50 million (?) and what to show for it to the People: some asphalt gone, tractors moving about and a little demo.

    Echo the Shame line, but its more than that.

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  7. To all concerned: Until we get some more facts on the flowers, maybe we should all just take a breath, push away from the computer, and take a walk outside.

    Way to early in the week for all this splatter. IMO

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  8. This sounds like a good plan and good gov't/ private-public partnership: spend our money destroying the flowers and actual live things and razing buildings not anywhere near the park, and then when the money's gone, throw up hands and say we need more!
    idiots

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  9. It's possible that the planting didn't work out very well. Don't think many of them came up last year.

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  10. Mcbrooklyn-
    If Ms. Webster can get back to you so fast about the daffodils-that- are-salt water-friendly-and-so they-died-we-didn't-raze-them mystery (which had potential as the new "Daffodil-Gate") then maybe she can tell you the budgeted amount they'll spend on destroying the Purchase Building?
    (And then of course the actual amount when said and done)

    Thanks for following up

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